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Sergio Perez said Cadillac’s double retirement at the Austrian Grand Prix was “totally unacceptable” and described it as the “worst weekend” of his 2026 season so far, after both he and team-mate Valtteri Bottas were out within four laps. Sergio Perez said: "I think we underestimated the effect of traffic. We've been having issues all weekend – I think it's been the worst weekend. It feels like we took four or five steps backwards. So there needs to be a massive process, thinking on how we're doing things, especially when it comes to upgrades, because today what happened was totally unacceptable and very unfortunate as well for the team."
Max Verstappen's manager Raymond Vermeulen says there have been no talks with McLaren amid rumours linking the Red Bull driver with a move. Vermeulen said: "There's no truth in that. There have been no negotiations."
Lewis Hamilton says Max Verstappen should have backed out of their wheel-to-wheel fight at the Austrian Grand Prix, after Verstappen called for a penalty and the stewards took no action. Hamilton said: "It was great. Good fun. He went off on the outside. You don't expect to go around the outside of a champion. I wouldn't expect to go around the outside of him there and hold the line. He was behind at the apex and therefore should have backed out. I left him just enough room."
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said the Austrian Grand Prix was “undoubtedly the strongest race” the team have had this season after Max Verstappen finished second. Laurent Mekies said: "It's a very, very strong race, probably undoubtedly the strongest race we have done this season and, as we discussed after Qualifying, it was visible the progress was there but difficult to put a number on it. To see us getting so close to the ultimate pace needed to win here on a difficult track in very hot weather is a good witness of how much work went on in Milton Keynes and how strong Max today was really in all phases of the race."
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says the team’s struggles at the Austrian Grand Prix were down to a lack of pace rather than strategy, after both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton switched to a three-stop race in the hot conditions. Vasseur said: "Oh, the strategy is not the issue, I think the issue is that we didn't have the pace of the Mercedes and [Max] Verstappen. We tried to compensate taking risks on the strategy, but it was not a good fight. I think it was more a matter of pace, and we paid also [the price for] the poor Friday we had."
Lando Norris said he felt sorry for Ferrari after Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton dropped out of podium contention in Austria. Lando Norris said: "The shock was Ferrari, struggling so much. So, to be honest, I feel bad for them. I mean, when you have no power, you have to push like hell in the straights, in the corners, and you can't do that with these front tyres. A tough race for them."
Oscar Piastri says McLaren’s decision to “attack things pretty differently” after a “tricky” Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix weekend was backed up by his fourth-place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix. Piastri said: "We put a lot of effort into understanding why Barcelona was so tricky, and we attacked things pretty differently for this weekend, and I think the result is evidence of that work. So from that side, I am really happy, but you just don't get a trophy at the end and wish for a bit more, but that was the absolute most."
Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari "just lacked pace" in the Austrian Grand Prix and he did not know why, after switching to a three-stop strategy in the hot conditions at the Red Bull Ring. Hamilton said: "I think that was pretty much it, for some reason we just lacked pace. On Sunday morning, in the strategy meeting, they said: 'It's a two-stop, a three-stop is four seconds slower.' They gave us that information, and I was dead set that it was a three for me, because I thought the degradation was going to be super high, particularly as the track temperature was the highest we've had in a long time, mid 50s to 60-degree track temperature."
Oscar Piastri will face no further action after being summoned to the stewards at the Austrian Grand Prix over an allegation he drove unnecessarily slowly on reconnaissance laps and exceeded the time limit between the Safety Car lines. After hearing from Piastri and a McLaren representative and reviewing video and timing data, the stewards said it was “evident that the car was well within the specified delta time”.
George Russell said he drove “quite abnormally” to manage his tyres at the Austrian Grand Prix as he continues to adjust to Mercedes’ 2026 car. Russell said: "Coming into this race weekend maybe my previous approach would have really hurt me on a track like this. And I drove the race very differently and quite abnormally, to be honest, to manage the tyres, and it worked quite well. Last year, I really knew how to handle the tyres on hot tracks, cold tracks, smooth surfaces, rough surfaces. And this year, I don't, to be honest. So, I'm rebuilding that."
Carlos Sainz said Williams’ weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix was “still not good enough” after he retired from the race, and added the team needs the upgrade package due at Silverstone to help it become more competitive. Sainz said: "To be honest, it's still not good enough. What I had today was a car that was closer to Barcelona and the rest of the year where I felt more comfortable with, but at the same time, we've had a run of very poor weekends in these high speed, hot tracks. We still need an upgrade which Silverstone will bring. Hopefully it means we start to get a bit more competitive."
Gabriel Bortoleto said he drove “the best race I could” at the Austrian Grand Prix but still missed out on points for Audi after finishing 11th. Bortoleto said: "It is what it is. I think I did the best race I could. I overtook the Alpine that was ahead of me. We had really good race pace but I couldn't capitalise on P10 because I think the Racing Bulls were just a bit ahead of us this weekend. No one broke down ahead of us. This race was very clean for everyone."
Liam Lawson says Racing Bulls have “definitely made a step” in long-run pace after the team secured another double points finish at the Austrian Grand Prix. Lawson said: "It's good. Honestly, the car's been good all weekend. Compared to last week as well, we've definitely made a step in long run pace, so I'm very happy."
George Russell said he “needed a lot of resilience” to recover from a tough spell without a win, after the Mercedes driver took victory from pole position yesterday for his first win since the season-opening race. Russell said: "It's been a tough couple of months with some really tricky races, with races that felt like everything was going against me, then some races with some tough performances. Obviously, I've got a really incredible team mate next to me who, week-in, week-out, is delivering some pretty spectacular performances. So, for me, going into Canada, going into Barcelona from quite a low point, I needed a lot of resilience to be able to get back and deliver some strong performances. So to get the last two poles, to get the win here this weekend, especially on a track which I don't think is so suited to me, I'm really, really proud of."
Max Verstappen says Red Bull still have “too many issues” to mount a title challenge this year, despite their strongest weekend of the season so far ending with him finishing second behind George Russell. Verstappen said: "We had very good pace but I think to fight for a title we need to be more 'all-round'. I think we still have too many issues, from the starts to just procedural issues in the background, that even I think you guys don't know about, but I know about. It's not a big criticism or whatever. I think everyone is aware but we always want to be better, we chase to be the best."
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